Louder Than Words
by magentafeelings92
Summary: Rinoa/Zell oneshot. Zell tries to figure out his relationship with Rinoa. Are they just friends, or something more...?


_Most of the dialogue in this is actually from the game. It inspired me to do this Zell/Rinoa one shot ;)_

Louder Than Words

Zell sighed heavily as he walked away from the counter. This was just _unfair. _He felt certain that the dinner ladies sensed his incoming presence and hastily hid his true love from him out of pure malice.

'We might have some more in tomorrow, Zell', called the sweet, pitying voice of one of the dinner ladies in question.

Zell was about to turn around and retort, until he felt his own bowels scream in protest. A slight pink tinge spread on his cheeks as he heard the giggling of the group of girls nearby. _Great Zell. Method 15 on how to show yourself up in public,_ he thought sardonically. He flashed a smile at one of the girls and began punching the air. _Might as well show them one of my moves, stop them thinking I'm a complete loser._

He started getting into one of his signature moves, mouthing 'left hook, right', and sprung around to prepare for a kick until...

'Zell, you nearly knocked me out senseless!'

He felt his muscles freeze at the sight of the dark haired girl before him. He bit his lip nervously. _Rinoa. _He cursed himself for seeming a complete idiot in front of _her._

_'_Hey Rinoa. S'up?' he mumbled coherently. He scratched the back of his neck nervously. He hated how he always felt so embarrassed towards Rinoa. _As if she would ever look at me twice, anyway..._

She cocked her head playfully. 'I was looking for you, actually.'

His eyes widened. 'Me?' He tried to compose himself before he looked too desperate. 'Uh...how come?'

She shuffled uncomfortably on the soles of her feet. 'Well, you know...'She looked up, her face slightly flushed. 'I just wanted to...talk, that's all'.

He blinked. _Why's she so nervous? She's normally full of confidence. Could it be..._

'Hello? Earth to Zell!' She teasingly waved her hand in front of his dazed expression

'Uh...?'

She giggled. 'Thought I lost you there. Seriously Zell, you've got an attention span of a grat. Must I repeat myself?' She mockingly exasperated.

'Heh, sorry about that...'He shook his head. 'It's been a weird day.' He flashed a grin. 'I'm all yours.'

She returned his grin. 'Good.' They moved to a quieter part of the cafeteria where they could gain some privacy. As they were making small talk, Zell's eyes fell to the ring hanging on the chain on Rinoa's neck. Rinoa noticed the focus of his attention and scowled. 'Um, can you do me a favour and look at me when we're talking, and not my chest?'

'No I wasn't!' He protested fiercely, diverting his eyes from the ring. 'I was looking at the ring.' He muttered within earshot.

She shook her head in mocking disapproval. 'That's what they all say.' She clutched her ring tightly. 'You're probably wondering why I don't wear it, huh?'

He met her gaze. 'Your dad buy the wrong ring size?'

She shook her head. 'Hardly.' She traced the ring lovingly with her finger. 'It was a gift from my mom before she died. I've gotten chunkier fingers since then.' She laughed bitterly. 'But...I could never bring myself to part with it.' She sighed.

Zell felt a bit out of his depth. _What should I say...?_ 'Um...I'm sure your mom's proud of you, even though...you know.'

She laughed. 'Thanks Zell. Even though you don't know what to say...I appreciate that you're trying nonetheless.' They gazed at each other for a moment, before looking away. Suddenly, realisation passed across Rinoa's face. 'Speaking of rings...' She said, a sly smile crossing her face. 'That's exactly what I wanted to talk to you about...'

Zell looked puzzled. 'Huh. Really?' Rinoa nodded vigorously in response. 'Well...shoot.'

She fidgeted with a lock of her hair. 'I wanted to know where Squall bought his ring.'

Zell's smile faded. 'Squall's ring?!' He exclaimed a little too loudly. A few people turned around to stare. 'I dunno where he bought it.' He added sheepishly. He knew he'd reacted too strongly to such a simple question, but his hopes of a Squall-free conversation were seemingly dashed. _Stay cool, Zell. Don't get ahead of yourself._

Rinoa seemed unfazed by Zell's unnatural tone however, and went on. 'I want one. It looks really cool, doesn't it? She leant forward, her hands fidgeting behind her back

Zell fought the strong impulse to disagree. _She just likes the ring. So what? Stop reading so much into this, Zell._ 'You mean the one with some monster carved into it?'

He asked casually.

'YEAH!' Rinoa exclaimed. She nodded her head vigorously in confirmation.

Zell felt uncomfortable with Rinoa's enthusiasm. _If only I could draw the attention from Squall..._Suddenly, inspiration hit him.

'Alright, how 'bout I make you one? I'm pretty good at that kinda stuff.' He thumped his chest proudly. This was no lie. Ever since he was a kid, his grandpa had taught him various skills, and manipulating metals was one of them. Many a time he had made fine jewellery for his mom, why would this be any different?

'Really!?' Rinoa responded earnestly. She clapped her hands excitedly. 'Sure, ok!!!' Zell silently congratulated himself as Rinoa jumped up in excitement. Seeing Rinoa so happy made him feel pleased, content even. _If I make her the ring, maybe she'll give me a chance. Maybe we could be something more..._

Suddenly feeling a rush of Rinoa's excitement, Zell responded with 'Let's have Squall show us the real thing.'He didn't really want to involve Squall, but Rinoa DID want an exact copy of the ring. _Besides, the sooner Squall's out of the picture, the better..._

'...we can't do that.'

Zell blinked at her. She was staring at the floor, tracing one of the tiles with her foot. He'd never seen Rinoa look so...so _bashful._

_'_Why not?' He asked, perplexed. _If she wants the ring, how can she expect me not to at least see the original?_

She hesitated before answering. '...it's embarassing'. She avoided Zell's eyes, as Zell continued to feel confused.

'Say what?' He asked, just staring at the shrinking Rinoa figure._ How could she be embarassed when-_ Realisation broke his thought, as he felt bitterness crawl down his spine. He staggered back in shock. 'Oh...' All of it. The whole conversation had been about _him._ Rinoa wasn't interested in Zell. She wasn't even that interested in the ring. It was all a ploy to get to _Squall._

She looked up from the floor to see his shocked expression, and shook her head in denial. 'No! It's not what you think!'

Zell desperately wanted to believe her, but she turned her back on him, so as to not show him her face. She had said enough. He began to walk away from her, feeling emotionally drained.

'Wait up!'

He heard her calling him, but did not cease to walk away.

'ZELL. I said, wait up!'

This time, he couldn't bear ignoring her, and stopped so she could catch up. 'Could you...ask him?' She panted, a red tinge colouring her porcelain skin. He nodded in response. What more could he do? She beamed at him. 'Great! Thanks Zell, you're the best friend a girl could ask for!' She gave him a quick hug, and ran off to talk to Selphie and Irvine nearby. As he watched her go, he felt a pang of regret. _Best friend. _He sighed. It wasn't much, but it would be enough. Just to be with her, laugh with her, would be enough.

_So rate! If you wanna._


End file.
